The eclectic Novo-Hispanic Aristotelianism in the botanical work of the humanista Francisco Hernández de Toledo and its adaptation to the autochthonous context

Abstract

With the discovery of the New World, the challenge of classifying a totally unknown biota began. In this context, Francisco Hernández de Toledo (1515-1587) led the first exclusively scientific expedition to the Americas (1570-1577) at the behest of Philip II. He can be defined as a leading exponent of a new and genuine natural and moral Aristotelianism. In his Compendio de Historia Natural y Moral de las Indias, he applies the ‘organic’ vision of Aristotelian epistemology and Plinian Natural History, integrating medicine and botany in the same treatise. His methodological mixture led him to keep in his records the names of native botany in Nahuatl, together with the Latin and Spanish translations, thus pioneering the forging of a scientific-technical language in the Americas. Unfortunately, his botanical work is better known for the beauty of its illustrations, which obscures the essential scientific value of this work for modern science.